He stopped running
by Brave-little-duck
Summary: "He was back a week later... but he stopped running." Rated T for talk of suicide. ONE SHOT


**For national suicide awareness week. To anyone who lost someone they loved or knew from suicide, I am sorry.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Suicide. It gets your attention doesn't it, makes you stop and think. Whether you know someone who committed this awful act or have thought about it yourself, everyone thinks about something or someone when they hear or see that word. It's almost like clock work.

It's a horrible thing. It happens every day all across the world. It's sick. It's sick how people think the only way to solve anything is by dying, and doing it on their own terms as well. What's almost worse is that people feel like they _have _to do it. They feel as though there's nothing else they can to do to fix things. It's absolutely horrible. They get put down and abandoned by the ones who are supposed to love them more than anything else in the world.

But sometimes that isn't the case. Some people don't have to worry about being ignored or forgotten because they know somewhere deep inside them... they have someone to catch them when they fall.

Just imagine, a group of thirteen year old boys running outside in the snow for hours, in the heart of Minnesota. The four of them are the best of friends. It's the first snow fall of the year and their using every minute of daylight they can soak up to enjoy it while it's here. By the time it's nine o'clock, they're all exhausted. They head back to Logan's house for the night. Kendall, James, and Carlos all call their parents and inform them that they are staying there until morning.

By the time it hit midnight they were high off laughter and lack of sleep. No matter how hard they tried they couldn't be quiet for more than a second or two. This went on for hours. Then out of nowhere, everything fell silent.

The laughter stopped… not a sound was made… and it was quiet. Then Logan spoke up, having remembered something from his past.

"You guys know what week it is right?" He asked lying down on the floor in his room. His friends shook his head, lying down along with him.

"It's national suicide prevention week." He told them quietly.

"Oh yeah, I heard my mom say something about that." James said.

"It reminded me of this kid I knew in Texas. He rode my bus. I was in second grade when he was a sixth grader. Everybody he was really cool. He was really funny. He always told jokes on the bus to and from school. It made the bus driver laugh sometimes too. He was always in a good mood. But as soon as he got off the bus… he would run home as fast as he could. I mustered up enough courage and asked him why one day. He me asked if I could keep a secret. Being my giddy eight year old self, I told him yes. Then with the most serious face I'd ever seen him wear he said he did it to make sure his sister was still there when he got home. He was gone a few days later… he came back a week later. But he stopped running."

None of them said anything for a few minutes. The Logan spoke up again.

"She killed herself, his older sister. It took me years to figure out. Now it just makes me sad to think about."

"I don't mean to sound rude, but I don't understand how someone could do that." Carlos said. "I mean how some body could be so sad that they think dying is the only solution that confuses me. Even doing it just to end their pain for that matter, I mean why? Are things ever really that bad? I just don't get it."

"My cousin did it." Kendall said not looking at anyone one. "I knew she had died… I just didn't know how until recently. I asked mom and she told me. She did it the day Katie was born. She never got a chance to meet her really. I was only four when it happened. I just remember not seeing her again after she was born."

The room fell silent again. It was unnatural for that to happen with these boys. They always found something to talk about. Now they're at a loss for words once again.

"I think we should make a pact." James said. "We should make a pact to always stick together. Saying no matter what happened we'll always have each other's back. That way none of us will feel the loss of losing someone in that way. And even they do, they won't be alone through it. If we're sad or mad or even just heartbroken, we'll turn to each other.

"I agree with James." Kendall said. "I don't even want to think about losing one you guys, it hurts too much. I think we should do it."

So they did. It wasn't anything cheesy either. They found some of Logan's mom's stationary and got working. In the nicest hand writing they could, they wrote down everything they could think of that would bring together even more. When they finished they all signed it at the bottom, signifying their promise to each other. By the time it was all said and done, the sun had begun to rise on a brand new day.

What they did that day was incredible. Not only did they come together, but they made life long promises. They we're no longer best friends, but brothers. They became their own family. That's what beautiful about all this. It meant that in the end of it all, these boys would have someone to go to when things got hard. They had someone to make them laugh after they cried.

Even if they weren't bonded by blood, they were still family.

And you don't turn your back on the ones you love.

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**A/N: I hope you guys liked this, I worked hard to try and get it done before the week ended. OH and the next chapter of ATMYLM should be up tomorrow or Sunday! Please leave a nice review. Have a great day!**

**~B**


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